Scott the brave: Why tough-tackling Parker must be given his chance

Scott the brave: West Ham's Scott Parker was the standout performer in a disappointing season at Upton Park

And so it comes to this. Huddled around the wireless for news of Gareth Barry’s ankle. Really? A nation with designs on the World Cup plunged into crisis because the sort-of holding midfield player might not make the first two games?

Look, it’s not ideal, but there is drama and there is crisis and Barry’s race to get fit for June 1 when Fabio Capello finalises his squad fits firmly in the non-critical category.

We fret over Wayne Rooney because he is irreplaceable. So, too, Ashley Cole, or the fragile collection of central defenders. But Barry is a cog in a wheel. A very efficient cog, a slick and well-oiled cog without doubt, a cog that the manager has come to rely upon, but a machine part nonetheless. And parts can be replaced.

The rising panic over Barry’s fitness has been intensified by a dismal performance in the holding role against Mexico from Michael Carrick. No surprise there.

One day an England coach is going to tot up all the opportunities Carrick has been given to win his place in deep midfield, and it will bring an end to his international career. He is a good club player but struggles to make the step up.

In his defence, Carrick is not a conventional holding midfield player. Then again, neither is Barry. And that is why the hole left by his absence can be mended.

Capello’s 4-2-3-1 system is designed to solve several specific problems: a defined forward role for Steven Gerrard, allowing interchange with Rooney; accommodating Gerrard and Frank Lampard in the same team; playing Rooney in an area in which he is difficult to mark. Capello has succeeded in each of these aims.

Concern: Gareth Barry continues to be given chances to prove his fitness after an ankle injury

Rooney was the top scorer in UEFA’s World Cup qualifying groups; Gerrard enjoyed some of his best games for England. The system, however, has a profound weakness. Strictly, it requires two guarding midfielders, and England do not possess one.

Lampard and Barry do a shift there, but neither is a holding player. Barry is more frequently described as such, but often ends up farther forward than Lampard who displays the greater discipline of the two.

This is why if Barry does not recover in time for South Africa, Capello’s best option would be to turn to Scott Parker, the least heralded of his midfield squad men.

Parker has been in outstanding form for West Ham United this season, but that is not the reason to pick him. It is not his West Ham self that England need because for his club Parker is the equivalent of Gerrard for Liverpool, and Capello already has a player like that; the original, in fact.

No, Parker scores because he is the best midfield tackler in Capello’s extended England squad and if Barry is injured what is required is a destroyer who can break up play and use the ball simply. Parker would be more suited to this role than Carrick, James Milner or Tom Huddlestone, the trio Capello deployed against Mexico. All three are better passers but, as long as Parker is not tempted into over-ambition, this need not matter.

England do not need Glenn Hoddle when what is missing is David
Batty. A ball-winner who then serves the ball quickly is key to any
number of great teams. With direction from a world-class coach, Parker
could become more important to the team than Barry.

In the
mind of many, Parker suffers from grim recall of his sole start for
England, against Croatia in Zagreb under Steve McClaren. He had a poor
game that night, but was hardly alone. Carrick and Lampard were equally
ineffective but have not seen their international careers damaged irreparably.

Chances: Carrick

Not suited: Milner

Untried: Huddlestone

Parker’s job was to resist, and he did. It was not his fault that England created little, that Ashley Cole was out-jumped by Eduardo or that Paul Robinson, the England goalkeeper, had wandered off his line. His duties hardly included pitch maintenance, either.

Even so, certain of Barry’s strengths are plainly beyond him. Parker is right-footed, for instance, and there is little doubt Capello enjoys the benefit of having the left-footed Barry adding balance to the midfield. His range of passing is superior, too, and he has an excellent understanding with Gerrard.

Ball winner: Parker (left) offers a different dimension to the other midfielders competing for a place on the plane

Their partnership is a key factor in England’s attacking strength, particularly with Ashley Cole overlapping on the left flank. It was clear how much Gerrard missed Cole’s influence when Leighton Baines filled in against Mexico. Barry’s absence will not have helped, either.

Yet playing Parker brings other advantages. His uncompromising tackling has been described as the best in the Premier League by Jamie Redknapp. Capello should make it clear that this is what will secure his place in the team.

There are other midfield players to shuttle box to box, there are greater talents to make the killer pass, or score the winning goal. Parker brings what England lack, a ball-winning battler.

We may yet be able to roll those prayer mats away. Unfit, Barry can be replaced; even fit he may still not be Capello’s most calculating option.

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MARTIN SAMUEL: Scott the brave - why tough-tackling Parker must be given his chance